Rascanu's final shape - with refinements by the English designer David Coward - was much more satisfactory, a svelte blend of Maserati nose (with fashionable pop-up headlights) and sweeping Ferrari roofline, with a touch of Aston Martin DBS, but with four doors and four seats.When the car was announced, prematurely, in 1972, it was powered by a bespoke Martin V8, a 3.5-litre unit with a rather fragile temperament that was designed by the British engineer Ted Martin for use in racing cars.Getting the engine into production proved difficult, and as the Monica began to put on weight with more and more luxury features it became increasingly obvious to Lawrence that the Martin engine didn't have the character his buyers required. Named after Tastevin's wife Monique, the first car, built by Lawrence in a Chiswick railway arch, was ready in 1968.It looked bulbous, and was not the glamorous GT car the French tycoon had dreamed of. Twenty-five of these were in effect prototypes from the car's five-year development period, when its designers struggled to find a suitable company to build the bodywork.The Monica was a truly international effort. It was designed in the UK by Chris Lawrence (who now works for Morgan), powered by a Chrysler 5.4-litre V8 engine, styled by a Romanian called Tony Rascanu and financed and built by the French industrial tycoon Jean Tastevin. He certainly got rid of a lot of his fortune getting the Monica into production, but he had fun trying. In many ways the car he built, far from being a lash-up in a pretty dress, was more sorted than most exotics that made it.A fan of fast, luxurious cars, Tastevin dreamed of building a successor to the Facel Vega and the great French Grand Routier cars of the 1930s.
It was the world's fastest four-door saloon, good for nearly 160mph. But it couldn't have been launched at a worse time, a 12mpg supercar born in the middle of a fuel crisis and an era of speed limits.Unsurprisingly it was cancelled after only 35 were built. The Monica definitely falls into the "near-mythical" category of motor cars. You might be aware of it from an old Observers Book of Cars, a dog-eared early 1970s Motor Show guide or a playground game of Top Trumps, but you've probably never seen one. At £14,000 the Monica was more expensive than a Ferrari Daytona or a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow when it emerged in 1973. Insect repellents containing DEET are effective, but must be applied regularly as they wear off.
Citronella oil is also effective, but doesn't last as long as DEET. When travelling to Africa, it is important to take antimalarial pills. You can get advice from the National Travel Health Network and Centre ( ), or Health Protection Scotland ( ).Please mail your questions for Dr Fred to health independent.co.uk. People who sweat little are less attractive to mosquitoes than sweaty people.The only reliable way to avoid getting bitten is to stay covered up, especially around dusk and at night. Mosquitoes carry malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever and some types of encephalitis. Malaria causes more than a million deaths a year, mostly in Africa.Mosquitoes are attracted to the sight, smell and heat of human beings.
